Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 605, 25 August 1858, Page 3

Miscellaneous.

Native Princes.—There still exist in India at least 220 sovereign princes, rajahs, or chieftains, of different ranks and power*, from the Nizam, who is the monarch of a great kingdom with a distinct army of 60,000 men, down to the petty Mahratta and Rejpoot chiefs. These princes rule and govern upwards of 600,000 square miles of territory; they have at least forty millions of subjects, their independent revenues are extremely great, and they have under their direct orders military bodies, wholly unconnected with the company, which amount to 350,000 armed men. "• It is true," says Mr. Thornton, from whose papers we borrowed these details, "that considerable portions of these troops of native states are better fitted for police purposes than for war; that no regular system of payment obtains among themj and that they are for the most part.badly organised and inefficient. But on the other hand the list is by no means complete. It comprises the rajahs, who may be said to have a political status, but most of these have in turn petty dependant feudations, all having armed followers which swell the native forces of India to a prodigious amount."— -Edinburgh Review.

A Nigh^with Brazilian Rats—Although the hotel (Albergo lmperiale) was the principal establishment of the kind in Rio, my bedroom was very poorly furnished. Pleased, however, to find myself once more on dry land, I went to bed earlier than usual, looking forward to a quiet night's rest. Soon after I had put my candle out, I thought my room must be haunted. My glasses were upset, boots pulled about, and there were strange noises all around me. I was not kept long in suspense, however, for I felt something running over my bed, and at last over my face, and to my horror I found myself in company with numerous;rats, which for size are unequalled, except, I believe, in Cadiz. Not knowing what to do for the best, I drew the sheet over my. head, not to come in contact with them, knowing that if Tstruck one they would attack me en masse. I remained in this disagreeable position fully an hour, when I suddenly heard cries^'and a disturbance in the room below,; which led me to suppose that some people in it were quarrelling. By degrees everything became quiet, and theii again I heard the sound of many voices. Presently there was a knock at the door, and in walked the landlord who, came to make iuquiries after me.—■ Sketches of Society in Paris, India, §"c. By Major.< Chambre, late 17th Lancers.

; "The devil's meal is all bran," was the extraordinary subject of the Rev.:/H. S. Brown's lecture on Sunday afternoon, at Lho Liverpool Concert-hall. . '

A Cannibal.—A lady advertises in: tho "Glasgow Herald" that she wants a gentleman for " breakfast and tea."

"^mong the family--of nations. In our, /^opinion, tbe cause of this apparent anomaly, and "the key -to:/the enigma, may be /found in tlie enormous riiass of railway and other industrial obligations bearing /•interest guaranteed by both state and com•pany/with which France bas^of late, been '.- completely inundated About 1840, the ..'."French, government discovered the necesVsity of introducing railroads, and the. Paris and Orleans Company was formed;. but the novelty, and therefore uncertainty- < of the undertaking*, caused the commercially timid French, public to hesitate before subscribing*; in -fact,-the-.-subscription list could hot be filled until the state accorded more 'advantageous terms to the company, and guaranteed a minimum in- ' terest of 4 per cent. From this dates the existing railroad system throughout France. The government saw that 'Without granting* the most liberal, and we, may say in many instances • extravagant concession to the companies, France would •be without one of the greatest improvements of the age. The very -high < prices of the shares of the Paris and Orleans, the /Nbrd, the Lyons, and the Eastern railway, consequent upon their< splendid dividends, which vary from 12 to 18 per ; cent per annum, are the best proofs of-the extraordinary success of those undertakings. But while we consider that it is - essential to the well-being and good>management of every concern that it should

amply remunerate those enterprising persons who originally risked their capital in the undertaking, when the result was still doubtful, we think that there ought to be nevertheless, limits to those advantages. It is a sytem fraught with considerable danger that railway companies, whose i -shares stand from 50 to I&o,per cent.' premium, should, when they require to increase their capital, be allowed to raise countless millions by means of preference obligations, bearing a fixed interest qua-„ Tanreed not only by the company itself, but >by the state as well. The Westernrailway of France has issued 800,000 obligations; the Northern, 525,000; the Orleans, 430,000 ; in short, no less than 4,800,000 obligations of the various railway, companies exist in France, and represent a capital of about -63 millions sterling, for the reimbursement of which upwards^ of 100 millions sterling will be required. We have shown why the state saw the necessity of supporting these undertakings | during- their infancy, and while their success was problematical; but railways 'liave proved too profitable in France to f require any long*er assistance from Government. If the companies need an extension. =of their capital, the legitimate mode of obtaining it would be by the creation of new shares, on the undertaking itself; but then it suits the directors and share-

holders to avoid as much as possible increasing the shares, for naturally by so doing the rate of the dividends would be diminished and the market price depreciated; whereas.obligations receive only a fixed rate of interest (in almost every case ■considerably below that produced by the line), and they consequently do not in any way interfere with the shares. The directors are no doubt perfectly justified in the wurse they have adopted, for as the g-uardians of the interests of their proprietors, they are bound to do the best they can for the benefit of the concern.

We cannot, however, but animadvert strongly on the' want of judgment on.. the part of the Government, which ought to have foreseen that iii guaranteeing* a minimum rate of interest to railway obligations, they were establishing a competitor of the most formidable description to the public funds; for how could they expect the public to invest in the rentes, which pay at the present price Al per cent., when the same government. security of another kind, and certainly in no. way inferior, may be purchased at prices and conditions to yield over 5 \ per cent. The manufacture of obligations still continues, consequently we cannot see any ; probability of an improvement in tbe price ■ i re^ t'"s- If we h(«l an advice to offer to ; the J|ench Government, it would be—lst. io abstain, for at least two years, from granting any fresh concessions, the country possessing employment sufficient for the present for its labour and means. 2nd. To withold permission from the various railway companies to issue any more obligations during a like period of two years. / 3rd. To discontinue henceforth in toto the of granting a State guarantee to Such obligations. And, 4fch. Let every coiapany convert all its existing obligations mtQ a 4 per cent, rente at par^—that Is to say, to give the holders\of the -4bonds such an amount of 4 per cenL rentes

at par as will" yield them an interest »equal to that -which' they will receive, capitalist ing* at the <same time tbe value of the; annual drawing*, such -rentes having*, of 'course,-the government guarantee, which tbe obligations at present possess. -; We feel confident that were such a plan adopted, the clouds which overhang the' financial horizon of would -speedily disperse j extensive investments, both localand foreign, would be made in French; rentes j and France would assume, financially, that elevated position'to which. she: is entitled, and' which she has politically always occupied among" the nations of the world.